The US government just authorized a private company to land on the moon

A company made up of a few dozen people just got permission from a collection of federal agencies to try to land on the moon.

If they succeed, they'll follow the only three entities — the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China— to touch down on the moon. The trip would take them 10 times farther from Earth than any commercial company has gone before.

But the company's end goal is focused on more commercial goals, like mining for metals, fuels, and moon rocks. They're also offering to bring people's ashes to space.

Rocket Lab could soon ferry Moon Express to the surface of Earth's closest satellite.
Rocket Lab
The whole project is expected to cost on the order of tens of millions of dollars — a fraction of the price tag of non-commercial landers. In fact, Moon Express has already bought a launch on a rocket named Electron from a New Zealand start-up called Rocket Lab.

There's no formal approval process for missions to space, though Moon Express worked with the Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies individually to address their concerns. They wanted to be sure the company wouldn't be violating the collection of international agreements that govern trips to the moon.

Moon Express is one of 17 companies from around the world going after Google's Lunar X Prize. The competition puts a $30 million bounty and a December 31, 2017 deadline on an impressive series of feats: landing on the moon, strolling at least 500 meters, and beaming back footage of the whole thing to Earth.

The company isn't alone, though: An Israeli outfit called SpaceIL is also planning a 2017 lunar launch.